Rickie Fowler, the last golfer to qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, was poised to play another week in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Then he reached TPC Southwind’s No. 18 holes on Saturday afternoon.
Fowler carded a quintuple bogey on the par-4 hole, which means it took him nine shots to finish. It tied for the highest score he has registered during a PGA Tour event. He finished with an even-par 72 and sits at 2-under and tied for 59th heading into the final round.
Fowler’s folly on No. 18 was evident from his first shot.
He hit his tee shot into the water, then dropped 221 yards from the pin. He hit his penalty shot into the water and took another drop from 181 yards. A poor approach shot landed 53 feet from the hole. His sixth shot, a chip from the fairway, landed in the rough. His seventh shot finally ended up on the green.
He missed a 6-foot putt long before registering the second quintuple bogey of his PGA Tour career.
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The Golf Channel said Fowler had to finish in the top 11 or better in Memphis to move on to next week’s BMW Championship. A PGA Tour official clarified that Fowler would actually need to finish in at least a tie for eighth this week, based on projections at the time of Fowler’s collapse.
Had Fowler parred the No. 18, he would have been 7 under and in range of the top 20 entering Sunday’s final round. Instead, he took the gallery on No. 18 on quite the adventure.
Contact Damichael Cole at [email protected] and on Twitter @damichaelc
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Rickie Fowler: Watch quintuple bogey at FedEx St. Jude Championship